Support for small boats



Nov. 27, 1962 H. E. SMITH 3,065,475

SUPPORT FOR SMALL BOATS Filed June 27, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HUGH E. SMITH Nov. 27, 1962 H. E. SMITH SUPPORT FOR SMALL BOATS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 27, 1960 FIG.3

R mm w e H G U H States den 3,065,475 SUPPURT FOR SMALL BOATS Hugh E. Smith, Troy, N.Y. Filed June 27, 1960, Ser. No. 38,912 3 Claims. (Cl. 930) The present invention relates in general to davits or supports for dinghies, small boats or the like and more particularly to such supports adapted for installation on boats powered with outboard motors.

Recent years have seen the development and increasing use of outboard-powered boats. As the available horsepower of outboard motors has increased, the size of the boats powered by such motors has correspondingly increased. With the development of outboard-powered cruisers of seventeen feet or more in length, the need for auxiliary craft such as dinghies, prams or the like, to be carried aboard such cruisers has developed. The average outboard-powered cruiser is generally too small to permit mounting such auxiliary craft on davits installed along the side of the cruiser and the nature of the mounting of the outboard engine interferes with the use of any normal davits on the stern of such cruisers.

The nature of the usage of the average outboard cruiser generally is such that permanent davits or supports would be objectionable. Perhaps once in three or four trips will it be necessary or desirable to take along a pram or other small auxiliary craft. Therefore, to be of value, any davits must be readily and easily demountable.

Other problems face the operator of outboard-powered cruisers. The noise level of most outboard engines is objectionable and also the fumes given off by the exhausts of such engines tend to blow into the cockpit of the cruiser when traveling at slow speeds and/or with a following wind.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for overcoming the aforesaid defects of outboard-powered cruisers.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide readily mountable and demountable means for'the carrying of small auxiliary craft aboard outboard-powered boats.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means whereby small auxiliary craft carried aboard an outboardpowered boat acts both as a noise and fume baflle for the engine or engines of such boat.

Additional objects, if not specifically set forth herein will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side plan view of the stern of an out- 1 board cruiser having a mounting bracket for the outboard motor, showing the device of the present invention supporting a small auxiliary craft. I

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the stern of the cruiser illustrated in FIGURE 1 with both the outboard motor and the small auxiliary craft deleted to show the details of the mounting device. I

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view showing the device of the present invention mounted on an outboard-powered craft provided with a well-type mount for the outboard motor.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded view of the components of the device of the present invention.

Generally, the present invention provides a device which permits the transportation of a small auxiliary craft aboarda larger outboard-powered craft in such a 1 manner that the auxiliary also acts as a fume and noise baffle for the motor or motors of the larger craft. More specifically, the present invention includes a mounting device adapted to be installed on outboard-powered craft in such a fashion that it can readily and easily be assembled to carry a small auxiliary craft or can readily and easily be disassembled to the extent where it does not in any way interfere with operation of the outboardpowered craft when the small auxiliary is not carried.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, 10 represents the stern portion of an outboard-powered craft of substantial size, such as a cruiser. As illustrated, the cruiser 10 has a stern-mounted transom bracket 11 upon which an outboard motor 12 is adapted to be mounted. Permanently afiixed to each side of the transom bracket 11 is the mounting tube 13 of the present invention. This is a fairly heavy gage non-corroding metal or plastic tube-preferably formed of stainless steel and held to the transom bracket by any suitable means (as illustrated, bolts 14 extending through mounting feet 15 and through transom bracket 11).

Slidably mounted within tube 13 is support rod 16. This rod should likewise be of non-corroding material such as aluminum, etc. Both tube 13 and rod 16 must be of fairly high strength to resist bending or deformation due to the load of the small craft to be supported thereby. A suitable material for rod 16 has been found to be a 1' OD. aluminum tube with a hardwool dowel snugly fitted inside the tube. Preferably, although not necessarily required, means are provided to prevent side sway of rods 16. As illustrated, such means comprise a flexible steel cable 17 separated at about its mid-point by a turnbuckle 18. This engages in an eyebolt 19 or other suitable terminus in rod 16 and in an eyebolt 20 mounted in the transom 21 of the boat 10. A pair of mounting tubes and support rods are, of course, required-one on each side of the outboard craft as is more clearly shown in FIGURE 2. A pair of support hooks 22 are detachably mounted over the transom 21 to provide support for the inboard gunwale 23 of the auxiliary small boat 24. The auxiliary boat 24 is mounted upside down over motor 12 with the inboard gunwale 23 engaged by support hooks 22 and the outboard gunwale 25 engaged by support rods 16. Preferably a projection 26 is formed on the inboard surface of each rod 16 immediately below the point of contact of the outboard gunwale 25 of auxiliary 24. This projection 26 prevents the auxiliary craft from slipping down support rod 16 when the inboard side of the small boat is lifted for servicing of the engine 12 or for other purposes. Also, preferably, a pair of fastening means 27 which may be straps or the like (preferably a pair of airplane shock cords) extend from the end of rods 16 over the bottom of small boat 24 and are fastened aboard the larger supporting craft as at cleat 29. Also, preferably, a line 28 is fastened to the outboard gunwale 25 of the small boat, passed over the bottom of the small boat 24, and allowed to hang on the inboard side of such small boat to permit such small boat to be unloaded by tipping towards the bow of the supporting craft 10. A stop member 30, which may be a bolt or other means, is provided in the base of mounting tube 13 to prevent support rod 16 from extending through the base of tube 13.

- FIGURE 2 illustrates in detail the arrangement of the supporting device of the present invention as described in connection with FIGURE 1. For convenience, the reference numerals remain the same as for FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the device of the present inven tion installed on an outboard craft 40 wherein a well 41 is provided for the mounting of an outboard motor (not shown) on transom 42. Again, the side mounting tubes 43 are permanently fastened to the sides of the supporting craft 40 with bolts 44 extending through mounting feet 45. Support rods 46 are slidably mounted Within tubes 43 and are guyed against side sway by cables 47 and associated turnbuckles 48 engaged at one end in 3 rod 46 by eyebolt 49 and at the other end in the hull of the supporting craft 40 by eyebolt 50.

A projection 51 is provided on the inboard face of support rods 46 and a stop bolt 52 is provided in each mounting tube 43. Again, shock cords or the like 53 extend from the ends of rods 46 to suitable cleats 54 on the hull of craft 40. The only real variation from the installation described in connection with FIGURES 1 and 2 is the omission of support hooks for the inboard gunwale of the craft to be supported and the replacement of these elements with simple blocks 55 mounted on the top surface of the transom of hull 40. These blocks engage the inner or inboard gunwale of the supported craft and maintain it in fixed relation to the hull 40. For clarity, both the outboard motor and the supported small craft have been omitted from the drawing of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 4 shows in exploded detail the preferred elements of the present invention. Obviously as shown, each part except the central eyebolt 70 is duplicated when installedone set being mounted on each side of the supporting craft. The mounting tube 60 as shown is preferably a heavy gage stainless steel tube with mounting plates 61 welded to the base thereof to form feet which are drilled as at 62 to receive mounting bolts (not shown) to fasten such tube to the hull of the supporting craft in at least a semi-permanent fashion. A stop bolt 63 is provided to extend through mounting tube 60 as indicated by the dotted lines and to prevent the associated support rod from sliding beyond the bolt 63. Other stop means such as a welded bar, burred tube edge or the like may be substituted for bolt 63 if desired. Regardless of the means used, the tube 60 should not be completely closed at the lower end but should remain open enough to permit water to drain completely therefrom. Support rod 64 may be of the exact diameter to permit a snug but sliding fit within tube 60 or, as illustrated, may be hushed with any suitable material 65 (phenolic gaskets for example) which will not swell in water in order to obtain a good sliding fit. As stated above, a suitable material for the support rod is aluminum tubing. If desired, a hardwod dowel within the tubing of the support rod will strengthen the rod against bending under load. Side sway is prevented by cable 66 affixed to rod 64 by eyebolt 67. Preferably a flexible plastic covered steel cable is used for this purpose and it may be held to the eyebolt by any suitable means, e.g. cable clamps 68 or the like. A turnbuckle 69 positioned in cable 66 permits easy installation of the cable and affords a means to adjust the tension of the cable as desired. Eyebolt 70 mounted in the hull of the supporting craftaffords anchorage for the other end of cable 66. The fastening means 71 is affixed to the outer end of rod 64 by any suitable means (eyebolt '72 is illustrated). Means 71 is preferably an elastic shock cord of conventional design. This fastening means may be brought directly forward from the support rod to which it is attached, but preferably is crossed to the opposite gunwale of the supporting craft to aid in preventing side sway of the auxiliary craft being supported. This criss-cross arrangement is illustrated clearly in FIGURES 2 and 3 hereof. A cleat 73 of any suitable design should be provided to anchor the inboard end of the fastening means 71. The support for the inboard gunwale of the auxiliary craft to be carried is essentially only a means to prevent slippage of the inboard gunwale either downwardly or inwardly in relation to the outboard gunwale supporting rod. For boats with a transom bracket as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, this means may take the form of a supporting hook 74 having one end 75 adapted -to engage under the inner edge of the transom (shown in dotted lines at 76) and the other end 77 adapted to engage the inboard gunwale of the supported craft. Alternatively, the inboard support means may be a block 78, preferably rectangular in shape secured to the deck of the supporting craft as by screws or bolts 79 and adapted to engage between its outboard edge 80 and the deck to which it is secured the inboard gunwale of the supported craft. Obviously, in either case, the inboard support means may comprise either one or more hooks or blocks. Preferably two are utilized, one on each side, but a centrally located single support will be sufiicient for the purposes of the present invention. Projection 81 on support rod 64 is desirable to permit lifting of the inboard side of the small craft in order to obtain access to the motor or motors of the larger supporting craft. Projection 81 may be a shaped casting as shown, adapted to fit snugly around the tubular rod 64, or may merely be a large bolt or the like.

In operation, the mounting tubes of the present invention are secured to the sides of the supporting craft adjacent the stern thereof at an angle to the vertical determined by the width of the small craft to be supported and the height of the outboard motor over which the small craft will be suspended. The mounting tubes are considered a permanent installation since they are bolted to the hull of the supporting craft, but they are so designed and positioned, as to be of no interference with normal boat operation. The support rods, when it is decided to carry the small auxiliary craft, are slipped into the mounting tubes, the side sway cables are affixed and tension applied thereto by the turnbuckles, and the inboard support means installed. The small craft to be carried is then'placed upside down with the inboard gunwale engaging the inboard support means and the outboard gunwale engaging the support rods. The fastening means is preferably used to obtain positive positioning of the small craft but may be dispensed with if desired, allowing the weight of the small craft to serve to hold it in position.

When carried in this manner, with the inboard gunwale of the small craft closely adjacent to or in contact with the hull of the supporting craft across substantially the entire width of the supporting craft coextensive with the length of the small craft, a baffle is provided which both materially reduces engine noise transmitted to the occupants of the supporting craft and also substantially eliminates trans-fer of engine exhaust fumes into the cockpit of the'supporting craft. The small boat is easily removed from its supports for launching by raising the outboard gunwale and tipping the boat right side up across the cockpit of the supporting craft. For this purpose a line (28 in FIGURE 1 of the drawings) is preferably fastened to the outboard gunwale of the small boat and carried over the bottom of such boat to a position where it can be easily reached from within the cockpit of the supporting craft. A pull on this line lifts the outboard gunwale and permits the small boat to be easily positioned for lifting or sliding into the water. Auxiliary devices such as a gin pole hoist or davits may be positioned within the cockpit for lifting the small boat from and lowering it to the Water if desired, but such do not form a necessary part of the present invention.

Obviously, many variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention disclosed herein and therefore only such limitations shouldbe imposed as are contained within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An auxiliary small boat support device mounted on a larger craft powered by at least one outboard motor comprising: rear support means mounted adjacent the lower portion of the stern of said larger craft and extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom to hold said small auxiliary boat in inverted position at least partially above the outboard motor powering said larger craft; and means mounted adjacent the upper portion of the stern of said larger craft to support the inboard gunwale of said small auxiliary boat closely adjacent the stern of said larger craft.

2. A device as in claim 1 wherein said inboard gun- Wale is in contact with the stern of said larger craft.

3. An auxiliary small boat support device adapted to be mounted on a larger craft powered by at least one outboard motor comprising: means affixed to each side of said larger craft adjacent the lower portion of the stern thereof; rear support means slidably mounted in each of said first mentioned means and extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom to a point farther astern than the sternmost portion of the outboard motor powering said larger craft; and forward support means mounted on said larger craft above and forward of said first mentioned means, said forward support means and said rear support means cooperating to provide a support for the gunwales of a small auxiliary boat placed thereon in an inverted position and extending with its length direction substantially transverse to the length direction of the larger craft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,843,874 Hulst Feb. 2, 1932 2,294,864 Palmer Sept. 1, 1942 2,764,119 Sigler Sept. 25, 1956 3,010,124 Dawson Nov. 28, 196-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 473,948 Canada Mav 29, 1951 

